Unstable Souls
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: Out on parole, Jefferson picks up where he left off... but what he doesn't realise is that he had been caught in the act. Or does he? (Co-written with Cry-Of-A-Warp-Engine)
1. Gone Without A Trace?

_**24 hours ago, October 18th 2017…**_

_The desert air was unusually cold as it blew past them when they looked around, completely sure that they heard footsteps but not sure as to whose footsteps they were. _

_"This is getting eerie… I know we heard screaming out here and saw the person being dragged away, now it's completely silent." Amanda responded as her left hand was in Finn's right hand, a flashlight in her right hand as they looked around._

_Finn kept his girlfriend close to him, thinking that whoever was out here earlier could still be._

_As he was about to speak though, they heard someone not too far away._

_But turning around only revealed to them that it was Seth._

_"Why are you two out here?" Seth asked._

_"We heard two people screaming, then saw the taller one out of the two dragging the smaller one away." Finn explained._

_"Why didn't you call the cops?" Seth asked._

_"We went to the police station and the one behind the desk gave us attitude, then told us that unless it's been 48 hours, they can't do anything." Amanda responded._

_"I never really understood waiting that long to find someone who's gotten kidnapped." Finn replied before they saw Aestrid, Dianne and Immy._

_"I thought I told you three to stay back at the hotel!" Amanda responded._

_"Not when we think we know who you heard being taken." Dianne replied, holding what Amanda recognised as Immy's smaller smartphone. "Max Caulfield. Remember, the photography student from Oregon? She's not answered any texts since coincidentally about a half hour before you came out with hearing the commotion and any calls to her go straight to voicemail." _

_"Why would someone take her? She's just a kid…" Amanda replied, thinking that Max wasn't any older than a teenager._

_"Not quite. Like you she's a bit older than she looks, early 20s I think. Graduated from fancy ol' Blackwell Academy back in the summer of 2014. I was in the process of looking to see if anyone possibly related to her past could be in the area before my phone was suddenly nicked from me while talking about it." Immy explained, glancing up at Dianne._

_Dianne handed it back to Immy, who smiled slightly._

_"That's better." Immy responded._

_Amanda shined the flashlight towards a cactus… and nearly screamed when they saw blood._

_"Now that's a scene of struggle if I ever saw one." Aestrid spoke as she jogged towards the horrific scene, where there was a single streak of blood across the sand with several smaller droplets around it. She then crouched down as she saw something shiny in the sand, carefully pinching the small item between her fingers and picking it up._

_If the blood hadn't been shocking enough, the mostly empty needle was. Immy stepped over and took it into her right hand, turning it and examining it. "I think we just narrowed down who took her." She spoke, looking up towards Amanda._

_"Son of a bitch got out of prison…" Amanda responded quietly, Finn lightly rubbing her back._

_"Mark Jefferson, big court case in October of 2013. Despite 30 girls being victims and one of them dying in the process, the bastard somehow managed to get off with 6 years and as many months." Immy lowered the needle, stepping away from the blood. "It hasn't been his full sentence yet. But two months ago he got the unfortunate luxury of parole."_

_"He should've been sent to death row!" Amanda growled, exposing a needle scar on the left side of her neck and the others going wide eyed. "I was 18 when he snuck up on me… had it not been for him hearing someone and running off…" She responded, trailing off as Finn held her._

_"Cops blew it off back then?" Immy asked._

_"Anytime they hear the words wrestler and drugged, they assume it's an overdose. They didn't even bother looking further into it, I described to them what Jefferson looked like too." Amanda explained, Finn getting her to look at him._

_"Might be why they came so quick to it when he resurfaced in Arcadia Bay. Didn't do much for you but maybe it did some good for them, stopped there being any more kidnappings." Finn replied._

_"Until he broke out." Amanda responded, the group heading back to the hotel…_

**Present time**_**, October 19th 2017…**_

Kurt found himself concerned when Amanda was drinking a Redbull and shaking… and he walked over to her, Amanda looking at him.

"Was the arena checked thoroughly?" Amanda asked.

"It was. Mandy, if Jefferson's out, I don't think he'll go looking for you." Kurt responded.

"Kurt, I still remember that malicious look in his eyes… I was just going about my life that night and he was looking at me like an animal who had caught their prey. He's got Max and the police aren't doing anything, what if he kills her?!" Amanda replied, Kurt getting her to sit down.

"We'll find him before he does that, Mandy. Aestrid told me she's got one of her little gang working on a few things, trying to wiggle into Jefferson's accounts to see if there's anything to help. I don't know, maybe a transaction renting an apartment in the area or buying a new camera?" Kurt responded, sitting down beside her as he explained what was being done.

"After what happened, I didn't sleep too much. I started keeping a switchblade under the pillow and a gun under the bed. What did finally reassure me was keeping a picture nearby of me and Sachael from when we were kids." Amanda replied.

"Memories that comforted you. I can only hope that… somehow Max is doing the same, wherever she is." Kurt responded.

"I hope so too." Amanda replied before they hugged for a few seconds and she left.

When she found Finn, he was walking out of Vince's office and it was clear that he was furious at the chairman.

"He's not taking this seriously…" Amanda responded as they kissed and held each other.

"'Oh, girls go missing all the time, she'll turn up.' Like hell she will, if blood and a needle isn't enough to convince him I don't know what is." Finn replied, still feeling the last few seconds of his anger from the office, though as usual it faded relatively quickly when he was around Amanda.

"If I wasn't sure that I'd get fired, I'd slap the old bastard!" Amanda responded, Finn knowing that Vince had been giving her hell lately.

"Maybe a girl's life is worth more than a career but let's not get too drastic yet. At least not before we've tried all the less violent options beforehand." Finn replied as he glanced out of the window across the city around them.

He had a feeling that Jefferson was hiding Max somewhere close.


	2. From Bad To Worse?

Amanda couldn't get her arms up fast enough and Alexa kicked her right in the head… and the blonde and pink ombre haired woman went wide eyed as Amanda was unconscious, Finn checking on Amanda.

When Amanda did open her eyes, it was because of Vince shouting "Get her back in that ring, these fans paid to see that match!".

And Finn had enough and glared at Vince. "'These fans' did not pay to see her get beaten to a brain injury, nor did we sign up for it!" He growled towards him.

"Now you listen here, young man-" Vince started to yell.

"No, you listen! The only reason you've been punishing a girl who's been like a daughter to you is because she fell in love with me and you don't like me all that much! Mandy could've suffered another seizure tonight!" Finn responded angrily.

Amanda pulled herself up to where she was sitting on the side of the stretcher, ripping the neck brace off and taking her long hair out of its ponytail.

"Vince, if that's true, you better damn well admit it!" Amanda replied before Aestrid reached them… and the young paramedic glared at Vince.

"Ace, she's disoriented, she's not thinking clearly!" Vince replied defensively.

"And is he?!" Aestrid questioned, pointing towards Finn. "Or better yet, am I?! Or even the girl you refuse to believe has been kidnapped because I tell you something, the eye of a photographer sees more than anyone else's and she's said the exact same thing!"

"Alright. I'll admit, I don't like that they've gotten that close. But I just want to protect her." Vince replied.

"Where was that protective instinct when I told you that Randy was abusing me?!" Amanda questioned angrily.

"Protection is fine, now is as good a time to start as any but she doesn't need protecting from him! You know how you can protect not only her but everyone else? Reconsider what Finn told you earlier, so we can stop it happening to anyone else again." Aestrid added while opening her paramedic kit to check over Amanda's injuries.

Vince walked off as Aestrid found a cut on the left side of Amanda's face, Amanda cringing slightly as Aestrid dabbed some antiseptic spray into it… and Amanda threw the neck brace away from them.

"Hate those things." Amanda replied.

"You were shaking like a leaf when you went into that match." Aestrid responded.

"If Immy finds a Redbull gone, I'll tell her that I took it. Anything about where Max could be?" Amanda replied.

"Not much on a location yet. So far we know that around a month ago, dotted between several different retailers and websites Jefferson spend over $10,000 on new equipment. DSLR camera, white screen background, stage lights, all the works to make a full studio." Aestrid explained while lowering the spray once she felt that the wound was sufficiently cleaned.

"He could be anywhere. He's probably arrogant enough to stay in the city, thinking he won't get caught." Amanda responded, trying to get off of the stretcher but Finn stopped her.

"Put that thing away!" Enzo replied once he saw Dianne with a Beretta 71.

"I'm not taking any chances, Enzo!" Dianne responded.

"Where the hell did she get a gun?" Amanda questioned.

"I don't know… but lately, I can't blame her." Finn responded.

After getting checked over and cleaned up, Amanda was in warmer clothes as she thought back.

_Amanda set her jacket down in the locker room and turned around when the door slammed, going wide eyed when she saw Jefferson._

_"Whoever you are, you need to leave." Amanda responded, Jefferson smirking evilly._

_"Now why would I?" Jefferson questioned._

_"Why are you here?" Amanda replied._

"_Because I'm an artist. A photographer, capturing special moments forever into film. A lot of those moments revolve around a select few special subjects." Jefferson answered, Amanda quickly working out that 'subjects' referred to people, not topics._

_As he walked closer, Amanda grabbed a kendo stick and aimed it at him in a threatening manner… but he just chuckled at her._

_"Oh, Amanda, don't get angry now." Jefferson replied._

_"Why shouldn't I be when you followed me here?!" Amanda responded._

"_Because we can have fun here, didn't you sign up in this workplace to be on camera? Come on now, you love it when people see how great you are and I can show them that same thing in a whole new way." Jefferson answered, stepping a bit closer to the point where the tip of the kendo stick was mere inches from his chest. "You can be my model for life. I hope you don't mind… needles or duct tape."_

_Amanda had always thought that against someone built like Jefferson she'd always be faster. He wasn't particularly muscular and definitely at least a good 15 years older than her and unprepared to fight against an athlete._

_ Yet in a quick move, quick enough to take Amanda off guard, he'd hit the stick aside just long enough to get into closer range. Then after the shock, the next thing Amanda felt was a sharp sting in the side of her neck, Jefferson talking in a soft voice to her as he held his hands near her shoulders. Then as he moved back, as her vision blurred she could see the long needle injector in his hand, the attached vial now empty._

_As he had held her, he then heard footsteps nearby… and put her on the floor before he left._

_When Amanda opened her eyes, she saw John._

_"Where is he?" Amanda asked._

_"He's gone." John replied, Amanda knowing that he didn't mean that Jefferson had been taken to jail._

_"The cops don't believe what happened, do they?" Amanda responded._

_"Afraid not, but at the very least he was told to stay away from the area 'to avoid further complications'." John answered._

_Amanda was furious and glared at an officer outside of the hospital room…_

Amanda was jarred out of her thoughts when she felt a hand on her back, only to relax when Finn sat down and they kissed.

But he saw the fear in her hazel eyes and pulled her into his arms.

"Needles and duct tape…" Amanda replied quietly, Finn getting her to look at him as he realised that Jefferson used that on his victims. "What if he's after the ones that escaped?" She responded.

"He went for Max first and he knows she's the one who got him caught. Plus… hate to make it feel worse but at least from what's known, no one else escaped. He just didn't kill them, just drugged them to the point they had hardly any memory of the event then dumped them back near their homes. If the court case is to be believed, Rachel Amber was only killed because Jefferson had this thing going on with a sort of apprentice who got it wrong and overdosed her with the drugs. Then after that he stopped for a few months for things to cool off, then he took Kate Marsh who was so horrified she committed suicide a few days later… then Max." Finn explained, having read back on old papers and news articles once they'd realised who they were dealing with.

Amanda moved closer to him as they held each other, Finn kissing her forehead.

And both hoped that Max would be found alive.


	3. A Creature Of Habit

The hotel floor was quiet as Dean, Seth and Roman all looked at each other, each in their Shield outfits.

"You're sure that he'll show up here?" Roman asked.

"No but I'm not taking any chances. Not when he's tried to take her before." Dean responded, revealing a Desert Eagle 50.

"First Dianne, now you?!" Seth asked.

"What's he got, a needle with some sleepy-bye juice in it?" Dean questioned in response before raising the gun briefly. "To stop him in his tracks, this is the kind of sleepy-bye _we _need."

"He's right." Roman responded.

Curled up in the bed, Amanda wasn't settling into sleep as Finn held her… and he saw the picture of her and Sachael nearby.

"She was just learning how to drive at the time." Amanda replied.

But when Finn picked up the photo, he noticed someone a distance away from Amanda and Sachael.

"How old were you when you took this, Darlin'?" Finn asked.

"14. Why?" Amanda responded, looking closer. "That's him… much younger but it's him." She replied.

"Still with the long hair. Not long before he retired from his rockstar styled Seattle days that took up most of the 90s, I think he got his hair cut a couple months before he announced he was 'taking a break from the viewfinder'." Finn added as he examined Jefferson's appearance closer, plus the old model Canon camera he was often seen using in those days.

"This whole time, I thought that him finding me 9 years ago was the first time he had ever seen me… what was it about me that set his interest off?" Amanda responded as they held each other.

"You were a lot more innocent then… he focused on that." Finn replied.

Glancing at old photos in the dark room, Jefferson picked one up of Amanda thought it wasn't one he had taken… it was one from a photoshoot when she was 18 and promoting SummerSlam 2008.

He wasn't sure why he kept it though as to him, it was a little too racy.

He picked up another one of her… and smiled as she looked more innocent in it.

"No one stays innocent forever…" Jefferson responded quietly before picking up a more recent photo of Amanda and Finn.

He looked closer, seeing a bite scar on the crook of her neck… and glared at the man in the photo.

Hearing a noise, Jefferson turned to Max… who was awake, Jefferson walking over and taking the tape off of her mouth.

"You sick son of a bitch!" Max responded angrily, still quite drowsy from having just woken up from yet another drug induced sleep.

"How am I sick when she destroyed her innocence?" Jefferson asked.

"How did she destroy her innocence?!" Max seethed.

"She used to be so youthful and pure, that was beautiful… but she pissed it all away for a few hopeless years of 'emotional investment' with him. Still, no matter… I'm very glad you didn't do the same. Still broken up over your dead girlfriend Chloe I'd assume?" Mark explained before turning around again and stepping towards the tripod upon which his camera sat.

"_You _killed her… her and Rachel. And you drove Kate off that roof with what you did to her!" Max spoke with lowered, angry eyebrows.

"Kate took it all away by her own choice. It wasn't what I did, she was the one who made out with a bunch of people at the Vortex Club party. Not my fault someone decided to video it… or, for that matter, her fault." Jefferson responded as he unclipped the camera from the tripod and flipped up the viewfinder on the back.

"Yes, because of the drugs _you _gave her. The same drugs you gave to Rachel and with her, you can't say her death wasn't your fault!"

"Nathan overdosed her like a dumbass-"

"And Chloe didn't even make it to your studio! You shot her in cold blood, killed her-"

"Self defense Max, she had a loaded gun pointed in my direction and you know she would have used it."

"Rightfully so, considering we were stood upon Rachel's shallow grave. You killed them both Mark, _you_!"

"They're fucking together in heaven right now… is that what you want to hear?"

Max went silent. Words could no longer express how enraged she was with Jefferson, nor would they do either of them any good.

"Good. Now then, let's see here…"

The older man tilted his head down and closed his right eye, left looking through his camera's viewfinder at Max as several clicks indicated the shutter snapping several photos.

Max looked around with only the movement of her eyes, knowing that if she moved her head out of the pose that her still weakened body was in on this cold floor, Jefferson would be instantly angered and shove her back into position. The room was far less 'grand' than the previous Dark Room but had just as much expensive equipment. Maybe except the huge printer at the back, she could only assume that this time all his photos were staying digital. No more big red binders.

Except for one.

"You kept my file… from last time." Max spoke after a moment, Jefferson now stood down near her feet shooting more pictures of her semi-unconscious form.

"It's very special to me, Max. You opened my eyes to a whole new level of this subject…" Jefferson responded before he stepped back towards the small wooden table in the corner upon which the folder was sat. He opened it, flicking a few into it before holding it out towards her, open on a page upon which Max could see four photos. Three of her unconscious on the floor with her wrists and ankles taped together and one of her in the chair, limbs taped to the front chair legs and armrests and red backlight illuminating her skin. She remembered that chair, remembered that she'd managed to rip the tape and free her right leg from it.

Jefferson had no idea of course, that Max had other ideas than just looking at the photos. Her blue eyes were locked firmly to the one of her in the chair, he was confused by her sudden change of demeanor and stayed there holding it. He was curious as to where this strange attitude was going.

Max's eyes dilated through several different sizes. The irises opened wider, then narrowed, repeatedly adjusting as she focused on the photo. The hum of the bad electrical wiring in this new Dark Room slowly drowned out, replaced by whispers from the past.

"_Yes, that face… I'm getting some spectacular images here, Max…"_

Then it hit her. The focus locked and she felt like there was a sudden yank on her mind, almost like parachuters describe the feeling their shoulders get when the canopy is deployed, except solely in her mind. Everything around her faded to a mess of red and yellow flares, then to white…

Early in the morning of October 11th, 2013. Jefferson tapped the button on the camera, tripod set up directly ahead of Max. She was now sat in that same chair, wearing that same black shirt with a moth on the front. Jefferson spoke those same words…

"...I'm getting some spectacular images here, Max."

"I bet you are."

Jefferson looked up from the camera, then stood more upright. "You changed your attitude, didn't you? Did you finally realise what I'm offering you here?" He questioned, stepping around the tripod towards her.

"Let's just call me psychic for a moment and assume I have a feeling about the future." Max responded as she glanced around. She'd hoped she'd never have to look at this Dark Room again, the glass table and long couch ahead of her reminded her of where Victoria Chase had sat before Jefferson had killed her too. She was the only one who's death had gone undiscovered, since Nathan's had gone down as suicide on his own part and had never been directly linked to Jefferson.

"Okay… so tell me the future." Jefferson replied, palms flat out in a gesture that clearly said he didn't believe Max. But he loved seeing the girls he caught struggle to get around him, all part of the corruption progress. Giving them that faint glimmer of hope, then crushing it right in front of them.

"I think you should read my journal."

He looked back towards the storage crates in the corner of the room, upon which Max's book sat. "There is nothing more innocent than a teenager's diary… and nothing more private. Why would you tell me to read it?" He questioned, glancing back at her.

"Trust me and do it. I know I can't escape from here myself so why would I tell you false things, I mean-" Max demonstrated by yanking her strength through her wrists several times, demonstrating how firm the duct tape's grip was. "-It's not like I'm gonna grab a weapon behind your back, is it?"

"Hm… fair point, Max. Good to see you're not all that daft." Jefferson responded after a few seconds of considering it. He reached over and clicked the power button upon the camera before walking towards the boxes and picking up the diary, starting to read it.

It would start from July of that year, 2013. Starting from the day Max got her acceptance letter from Blackwell Academy, Mark read about her excitement with the thought that she'd be taught by him, one of her favourite photographers.

Then he'd reach October 7th and read about Chloe dying in the bathroom. Max would discover her rewind power and save Chloe, then her rewind would take her and Chloe on a wild adventure across the town to find Rachel Amber and what happened to Kate Marsh. It even told of how Max and Chloe found Rachel's body, and how they'd gone to the Vortex Club 'End Of The World' party with Chloe intent on killing Nathan.

And as he read deeper and deeper into everything Max knew about her powers, Max leant her head back as the red and golden flares seeped to her eyes again and she slowly re-integrated with the present.

And so with that moment altered, Mark's design of the new Dark Room was completely altered. Focused solely around making sure for definite that there were no known ways Max's rewind could empower her to alter events in there.

The knowledge of how Max had first photo jumped and altered the timeline around William's death caused him to never put any photos on the wall.

Max's eyes were slow to refocus on the world around her, back in the late evening of October 19th, 2017… she was sat in a chair again, one of a similar style if not a bit more soft. Her wrists were no longer duct taped to it, they were now more securely handcuffed to it. The red binder within which her previous photos were kept was now on the other side of the room, far from close enough for her to focus another time jump on.

"Judging by your sudden disorientation Max, this is where you changed time from." Mark spoke in his usual soft toned voice, rarely in any situation did it change from that. "Thank you for helping me ensure you can't escape now."

"Fuck you…" Max spoke quietly. Such a time jump as large as over 5 years had taken it out of her, especially since it had been that long since she'd last jumped at all.

"That's the spirit Max, always be a fighter. Oh and in case you're wondering why you're not quite waking up from this one, I gave you another dose about 5 minutes ago." Jefferson responded, Max's unfocused eyes looking up at him. It was like she was trying to be angry but didn't have the strength to, only to rotate her eyes up to him as her head fell to her right shoulder. This was far from the plan she'd had with the jump, she'd hoped that the time travel would make him more fascinated with her, maybe more open with letting her move around freely. Less focused on making sure it was impossible to escape. Instead, it had done the exact opposite, he was now more wary of what she was capable of and more paranoid about stopping it.

So for now all Max could do was hope and wait for her rescue to arrive. Because until it did there was little more she was capable of. Jefferson wasn't going to bring her the file to undo what she'd just done, so she'd just have to wait it out until someone else could.


End file.
